Ducks fall 5-2 to Rangers to start four-game trip

NEW YORK — The Anaheim Ducks arrived at Madison Square Garden with a perfect road record to face the unbeaten-at-home New York Rangers. 

Something had to give – and it was the visiting squad.

When Anaheim visited New York last December, prominent ex-Rangers Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba made their returns to Garden ice and Anaheim emerged with a 4-1 win.

This time, the results were nearly identical in reverse. 

Both teams featured a raft of new players versus a season ago. Trouba and Kreider were among many off-season departures and the new-look Ducks featured numerous rookies – including forwards (and first-round picks) Roger McQueen and Nikita Klepov plus defensemen Noah Warren and Trevor Hinds.

None – including top-scoring Ducks Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke – were able to impact the lopsided result Monday night as Anaheim lost for the first time in four road contests. 

The Rangers, coming off a dreadful 2025-26 when they finished last in the Eastern Conference with 77 points, saw two newcomers (Sean Durzi and Oliver Bjorkstrand) score en-route to a 5-2 smothering of the visitors.

"I thought our top guys weren't very good tonight," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't have much going early. They were in control." 

The Rangers scored within the first two minutes for the third straight home game as Durzi beat Ville Husso at 1:18 for his second goal this season.

Anaheim struggled to solve Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand who has been thrust into the starter’s role with starter Igor Shesterkin lost for the season following an injury suffered at Washington on Oct. 9. Garand made 28 saves but lost his shutout bid when defenseman Nick Jensen scored with 1:09 remaining followed by A.J. Greer scoring with 33 seconds left.

Jensen made his was playing his first game with the Ducks following his free agent signing over the summer. 

"That was my first game of the season but I felt like we were all in the same boat out there with the travel yesterday," Jensen said. "We win as a team and lose as a team. We just have to learn from this. We're right back at it tomorrow so we just have to have a short memory and let this one go."

Rangers captain J.T. Miller made it 2-0 on the power-play early in the second. 

The Rangers kept rolling as Gabe Perreault scored at 10:17 of the middle period and Bjorkstrand made it 4-0 at 13:14 of the second, then scored again early in the third. 

The Ducks, who endured a 15-hour travel ordeal to New York from the West Coast because of mechanical issues with their original charter jet, didn’t have any zip against the Rangers who improved to 6-0-0 on Madison Square Garden ice.

This season's fast home start is a far cry for New York, which won only 14 times in 41 home games last season and didn’t win their sixth game in regulation at home until March 29.

Garand was waived by the Rangers days before the season but luckily for them went 

unclaimed. The 24-year-old netminder made his NHL debut late last season after four seasons in the AHL improved to 4-2-1.

The Ducks were coming off a 4-2 home loss to Boston last Friday.

They continue their trip at the Islanders on Tuesday, followed by visits to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.